Gas prices up 10 cents over last week, website reports

A price monitoring website says Mainers are paying a dime a gallon more for gasoline this week than a week ago.

According to MaineGasPrices.com, average retail gasoline prices in Maine were 10.2 cents per gallon higher Sunday than a week earlier and now average $2.84 per gallon. That compares with the national average, which has increased 7.1 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.81 per gallon.

The website also said average Maine prices Sunday were 31.9 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago.

Market still above 11,000; key reports due this week

The stock market finished at about the same place where it started Monday as traders waited for a packed week of reports – on consumer sentiment, inflation and retail sales – that will give them a better view of where the economy is headed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained stuck in a 52-point range throughout the day, ending the day 10 points above the 11,000 milestone.

Bond trading was closed for Columbus Day.

Traders have been pushing the stock market higher over the last two weeks, expecting that the Federal Reserve will act in the coming weeks to stimulate the economy and drive interest rates lower.

If the Fed announces an expansion of its bond-buying program at its next meeting in November, traders assume that investors will resume buying stocks because low interest rates will make bonds less appealing.

Gap rescinds logo change, reverts to traditional design

The Gap casualwear chain will keep its decades-old white-on-navy blue logo after all. The move comes just one week after the company swapped it online for a new logo without saying a word. The new logo irritated fans, spurring them to complain about it online.

Gap North America President Marka Hansen said late Monday that the San Francisco-based company realized how much people liked the old logo after they put up the new one, a white background with black letters and a little blue box.

In a statement, she also said Gap didn’t handle the change correctly and missed a chance to have shoppers offer input until it was too late.

Record-low interest rates carry risks, says Fed deputy

Record-low interest rates may give companies an incentive to take excessive risks that could be bad for the economy, the Federal Reserve’s new vice chairwoman warned Monday.

Janet Yellen has supported the Fed’s policy of ultra-low interest rates to bolster the economy and to help drive down unemployment.

Her remarks, which don’t change that stance, may be aimed at tempering critics. They worry she’ll want to hold rates at record low levels for too long, which could inflate new bubbles in the prices of commodities, bonds or other assets.

Yellen made clear she is aware of the risks.

“It is conceivable that accommodative monetary policy could provide tinder for a buildup of leverage and excessive risk-taking,” Yellen told economists who were meeting in Denver.